Mehak Oberai and Shannon Rutherford
The increasing frequency of heatwaves in Australia has cast a light on the health impacts of extreme heat, and the subsequent burden placed on healthcare systems.
Ambulance services, often the first entry point to the healthcare system for Australia, are one important indicator of the health of the population and the functioning of health infrastructure.
Identifying ambulance services response is pivotal to understand and increase awareness about the health consequences of short-term exposure to environmental hazards, including heatwaves.
A recent study published by myself and other Griffith university researchers in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health highlights an increase in likelihood of ambulance call outs on heatwave days as compared to non-heatwave days for all causes – and especially for cardiovascular causes in Australia.
By better understanding the magnitude of the impact of heatwaves on ambulance services, we can better project the added pressure due to heatwaves in the future.
This information can be useful to understand heat-prone areas through spatial and temporal mapping, leading to improved planning and preparedness for the allocation of services and resources to those in most need.
Moreover, increased preparedness of ambulance services would reduce the risk of death from health conditions caused or exacerbated by hot weather.
The findings of our study reinforce an urgent need for proactive heat health awareness and resilience initiatives.
This includes campaigns targeted to individuals, communities, and care providers, emphasising the need for increasing heat preparedness and response to safeguard public health.
Figure 1. Measures to manage impacts of heat (Source: National Climate and Health Strategy)
We need to act at multiple levels to reduce underlying heat risk in our community through improved built environment, city design, and increased awareness to support the most effective actions.
We also need to address the shortcomings of existing systems, where heat action plans must change to include messaging tailored to the needs of the diverse populations at risk from extreme heat.
For instance, rural and urban populations might need different guidance due to the different exposure and cooling resources available to them.
Human behaviour theories such as the social amplification of risk framework (SARF) could be used as a guide to improve the communication of these messages.
Early warning systems (EWS), which are currently generalised for the whole population, should be enhanced by including improved exposure estimates of temperature and humidity and an individual or personal risk factor.
Disaster management frameworks, such as the Garcia and Fearnley’s EWS framework, provides a useful guide to work on increasing heat preparedness and awareness around heat health risks.
The research community and policy makers are working together so that state heat action plans are evidence-based (for example, the Queensland Heatwave Management Sub-plan, and The 2023 Australian National Climate and Health Framework which outlines the steps required to combat the impacts of a heatwave).
Researchers from Ethos (Extreme Heat and Older Persons) at Griffith University are developing an in-home digital early warning system, which we’ve been trialling with 89 older adults across Southeast Queensland during the 2023-2024 summer.
This system considers individual factors such as person’s age, weight, and height and monitors their indoor temperature and humidity to predict their heat-health risk.
The system accordingly alerts them to act, offering suggestions for cooling tailored to their preferences and circumstances.
Dr Shannon Rutherford, the project co-lead, says that the aim “is to provide in-home solutions to allow older people and their carers to monitor heat exposure, identify heat risks in their home, and respond to those risks using accessible cooling strategies.”
It is time to be heat prepared, and raise awareness to reduce the avoidable burden on health systems due to heatwaves.
You can read the recent ANZJPH article, “Preparing for a hotter climate: A systematic review and meta-analysis of heatwaves and ambulance callouts in Australia” by Mehak et al here or on ABC News here.
Mehak Oberai MPH, MSc is a Senior Research Assistant in the Ethos (Extreme Heat and Older Persons) Project at Griffith University, and Dr Shannon Rutherford is Associate Professor in the School of Medicine and Dentistry at Griffith University.
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